I
stood beside him; on the torturing cross
No pain assailed his unterrestrial sense;
And yet he groaned. Indignantly I summed
The massacres and miseries which his name
Had sanctioned in my country, and I cried
"Go! Go!" in mockery.

Religious
conversions have always generated tremendous social tensions.
The reason for this is that such conversions become successful
only when the people are rooted out of
their ancient traditions and are made to think that
their ancestors were evil people. The converts are made to say
awful things to the non-converts. Converts are also asked to
ignore the local traditions and to act contrary to them. For
example, in Orissa (India) it is considered to be inauspicious
to plough the land on a particular day. The missionaries insist
that the converts disregard this ancient tradition. The
Church of England has asked its members to stay away
from meditation practices and yoga since
they come from traditions that the Church of England says are
inferior to Christianity.

Thomas
Jefferson(1743-1826)
a liberal Christian President of the US, recognized very early
the deleterious impact of religion on a pluralistic America
which was then getting established. Writing about religion, he
said that its negative potential “has been severely felt by
mankind, and has filled the history of ten or twelve centuries
with too many atrocities not to merit a proscription from
meddling with government"

He
said:

"I
have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do
not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one
redeeming feature.”

'The Christian
God is cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust'

Elaine
Pagels (1943 - ) writer, professor of religion at
Princeton University, Biblical scholar, feminist. At Harvard, she
was part of a team studying the Nag
Hammadi library scrolls.

She is the author and Beyond
Belief and writes in The
Origin of Satan:

"Christians have taught - and
acted upon-the belief that their enemies are evil and beyond
redemption.”

Evangelizing
the globe: Intolerance and domination of Christianity.

The relentless
march of Christianity is causing destruction of
centuries old native cultures around the globe.

Numbers mean
power and such power within the Church will come from its Third
World adherents.

Christianity
welcomes Islam's role as a cleanser of the world from the gross
pollution of idolatry ? the name by which the two religions
remember all other religions, past or present. This sympathy
arises from the fact that the two religions in spite of a long
history of conflicts, share a common perspective and common
ideological premises. In their career, the two monotheistic
ideologies of Christianity and Islam have been active and
systematic persecutors of pagan nations, cultures and religions.

The doctrine of racial superiority
that the Europeans used to justify their colonial rule is gone,
but the attitude of Christian religious superiority continues.
Such religious exclusivism is backward and prejudicial, just like
racism.

If one believes, as the Church
teaches, that his/her non-Christian neighbors will go to hell, it
doesn't do much for communal harmony. Conversion belongs to the
times of colonialism. We have entered the era of Unity, of coming
together, of tolerance and accepting each other.

Karen Armstrong ( ? ) writes in
her book 'A
History of God':

“Conversions became a central preoccupation,
a violent, tortured drama in which the "sinner" and his
spiritual director "wrestled" for his soul. …..The
heavy emphasis on hell and damnation combined with an excessive
self-scrutiny led many into clinical depression: suicide seems to
have been prevalent. Puritans attributed this to Satan, who seems
as powerful ….as God..…. The Puritans God inspired anxiety and
a harsh intolerance of those who were not among the elect".

(Note:
The
2005 edition of the World Christian Database (http://www.worldchristiandatabase.org/)
says that India is now 6% Christian. The
recent data suggests that the rampant and aggressive conversion by
Christian missionaries is much more widespread than previously
acknowledged).

The
State of Rajasthan passes
Anti-Conversion
Bill

Jaipur: Amid a noisy walkout by the Congress-led
opposition, the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday passed a
bill for prohibition of religious conversion "by use of
force, allurement or fraudlent means".

The
Rajasthan Dharma Swatantrata (religious freedom) Bill,
introduced by the BJP government, was passed by a voice vote after
a stormy walkout by the opposition Congress and CPI(M) members
following 90 minutes of deadlock in the House. Trouble started
with a Congress MLA, Mahipal Singh Yadav, making some derogatory remarks against
Hindus. Angry ruling party MLAs did not
allow the other members to continue the debate on the bill and
also tried to move a motion against Mahipal.

The colorful
faces of Rajasthan.

“Religious
conversion destroys centuries-old cultures and incites
communal violence. It is violence, and it breeds violence”

***

The
Congress objected and requested Speaker Sumitra Singh to pardon
Mahipal, but the Speaker ruled it out saying it was the
"biggest crime" to use such "defamatory
words in respect of Hindus and no Hindu would tolerate such
things."

Despite
Leader of Opposition R N Choudhary tendering an apology on behalf
of Mahipal, the ruling party members continued to protest.

Staging
a walkout, Choudhary said if the BJP government wanted to pass the
bill on the "game of numbers" and without a serious
debate, it was not good to stay in the House. CPI (M) member
Amraram also staged walkout alleging that the government brought
the bill to "appease the RSS and promote the hidden
agenda" of the party.

Defending
the provisions of the bill, Home Minister G C Kataria said
Rajasthan would be the sixth state after Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,
Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh to prevent "forceful
religious conversion." Without naming a Kota-based minority
institution, Kataria alleged it was getting huge funds from the US
for "forceful religious conversion as is evident from past
incidents."

This
kind of religious conversion would not be allowed at any cost, he
asserted.

***
Tulku Ram said, “I spent nearly ten years in Christianity and
eight years as pastor, but my conscious never allowed me for that
fake healing, although I converted around fifty people. I very
well knew that nobody could be cured by that way and the Pope John
Paul, who was suffering from Parkinson, was a great example before
me.”

Nobody
could imagine that he was the pastor who himself converted dozens
of poor and hapless men, women and children in to Christianity in
the calm and picturesque hills of Himachal
Pradesh. Quite young
and dynamic, wearing yellow Ramnami muffler around his neck, the
tilak on his forehead and singing spiritual songs with a large
number of people in the Sanatan Dharam
Mandir at Shimla, Tulku Ram had a entirely new look. He
was one of the hundred and fifty persons, who after experiencing
the reality of the faith of Jesus Christ for several years, had
got opportunity to come back to the faith of their forefathers.
Braving heavy snowfall at that time all around, people gathered
there for the cause. They had nothing but to tell the story of
deception with him or her by those who once became their savior in
white cloak.

Masrur carved
temple, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India.

The
main shrine contains three stone images of Lord Ram Laxman
and Sita but the presence of the figure of
Lord Shiva in the centre of the
lintel affords a strong presumption that the temple was originally
dedicated to Mahadeva.

The rock-cut
style started in the reign of the Pallava king Narsinghavarman I Mahamalla (630-668 A.D.) during the first half of
the seventh century. It reached its climax in the Kailasha temples
at Ellora which were taken in hand during the reign of the
Rashtrakuta King Dantidurga (753- 756 A.D.) and finished during
that of Krishna I (758-773 A.D.). Though rock-cut caves are common
in South India, yet temples cut out of freestanding rocks, known
to archaeologists, are only four in number-'Rathas of Mammalapuram',
'Kailashas at Ellora', 'temple-complex at Masrur in Kangra' and
the 'Dharmnatha temple at Dhamnar', 65 miles to the
South-East of Jhalra Patan in Rajasthan.The
Rathas and the Kailashas are built in the Dravidian style, whereas
the Masrur and Dhamnar ones are in the Nagara style. Masrur beats
its Nagara rival in situation, size and execution.

Tulku Ram
became very emotional. He said, “I was
literally cheated. In 1997 when I was doing graduation,
they (missionaries) contacted me and assured for a good job
provided I get converted. But after conversion, they sent me to Agape
Bible
College,
Ludhiana
for one year training and then to
G.F.A.
College, Kumbnad (Kerala) for further one year training. I had little
options with me at that time due to my fragile economic condition.
Having appointed as pastor, I started converting poor people,
mostly ailing by giving them assurance that they will be cured by
bringing faith in Jesus and prayers.” He
also raveled that his outfit ‘Masihi Sangati’ belonging to the
Protestants had converted more than one thousand persons in
Himachal Pradesh.

Tulku Ram said "Now
I was fed up with all these frauds and was ready to return in the
fold of the faith to which my forefathers belong when Mr. Tarsem
Bharti, President of All India Scheduled caste and Scheduled
Tribes Mahasangh, H.P. contacted me.”

Replying a pointed question, he said, “This
was no religion but business. They used hapless people like me as
tool to collect gathering and would take snaps of them. By sending
those photographs to their mentors abroad, they would fetch a lot
of money to spend for the welfare of neo-converts. But fact is
that they never spend that money for that purpose.”

"The Spaniards found pleasure in
inventing all kinds of odd cruelties ... They built a long gibbet,
long enough for the toes to touch the ground to prevent
strangling, and hanged
thirteen [natives] at a time in honor of Christ Our Saviour and
the twelve Apostles... then, straw was wrapped around their
torn bodies and they were burned alive."

The Congress-led government in
the state passed the legislation during its four-day winter
session held at the newly constructed Vidhan Sabha (State
Legislature) in Dharamshala on Friday.

Kaul Singh, Law Minister, Himachal Pradesh, said, that
"according to the bill if someone was forced to change his
religion without his consent then he could come back to his own
religion within a month”. Under the bill, persons who had forced
or induced someone to change his/her religion then he/she would
liable for punishment, he said.

The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also welcomed the
Bill. Under some of the new laws, anyone planning to leave the
Hindu fold must obtain certificates from officials and affidavits
from courts saying they were converting out of free will and not
by inducements.

(Note:
Why dochurch leaders run to Sonia
Gandhi whenever there is a issue? She does not hold any position of
power in the government? Why not Manmohan
Singh who is the Prime Minister of this country?)

Refer
to Disappointed
Christian leaders write to Sonia - in.news.yahoo.com -
In a
strongly-worded paragraph in his letter to Sonia, secretary of
All-India Christian Council Sam Paul has requested the Congress
president to "constitute an inquiry against the Himachal
Pradesh chief minister for anti-party activities and set the
record straight by repealing this anti-human rights law of the
Anti-Conversion Bill." The law passed by the Himachal Pradesh
Assembly, and given his assent by the Governor on February 10, prevents
conversion by coercion or allurement - by "inducement direct
or indirect", something already defined as illegal by the law
of the land.

In
December 2006, the secular, non-saffronized,
non-communal, non-obscurantist, non-superstitious Himachal Pradesh
Government has passed a legislation banning forced religious
conversions.This
bold action of Himachal Pradesh Government founded on pragmatic
and crusty non-Congress common sense rooted in the soil of India
dating back to the dawn of history has to be welcomed by all the
true patriots in the land who subscribe to the ardent nationalism
of Mahapurushas like Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo Gosh, Sri
Bipin Chandra Pal, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Lala Lajpat Rai,
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Sri
Guruji Golwalkar.

Now,
the multiplication of these laws is causing concerns beyond
India
. The US State Department's
report on human rights practices, published in March, expressed
concerns over "attempts by state and local governments to
limit religious freedom" and the "promulgation of
antireligious conversion laws."

Last year, about 500 children between the age group of 10 and
15 years, landed at Kota railway station from different parts of
the country. Accompanied by some Christian missionaries, they were
being taken to a church at Kaithun Road, just on the outskirts of
the city. The local activists of the Bajrang Dal got the tip that
the children have been brought to convert to Christianity by Emmanuel
Mission International (EMI), a mission founded by Dr.
A.M Thomas, and currently headed by his son Samuel
Thomas.

Vasundhara Raje was of the firm view that illegal
activities of these missionary organisations could be checked only
by enacting an anti-conversion legislation, which several others
states have already enforced.

Of
late, Rajasthan had become a major centre of Christian activities.
They have been distributing literature, criticising the Hindu
religion and gods in a big way.
Congress again plays communal card.

***

In Rajasthan, the Christian
population, which was less then one lakh till 2001, has become
more than double. Interestingly, there is an increase
in number of Christians in Vanvasi-populated districts of
Dungarpur, Banswara and Udaipur. Many Christian organisations had
selected these areas as they found them the most easy hunting
ground to spread Christianity among the vanvasis.

According to an intelligence report,
after doing conversion work in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and
Jharkhand the Christian organisations have made Rajasthan their
next target.

Of
late, Rajasthan had become a major centre of Christian activities.
They have been distributing
literature, criticizing
the Hindu
religion and Gods in a big way.

Pope
Benedict, in unusually strong words, condemned the
Hindu nationalist attempts to curtail religious conversion in
India, in his second declaration this week defending religious
freedom in countries with Christian minorities. Stating
that anti-conversion laws were contrary to the highest ideals of India’s
founding fathers, the Pope informed New Delhi’s new
ambassador to Vatican, Amitava Tripathi that, “discriminatory
restrictions on the fundamental right of religious freedom, must
be firmly rejected.”

Many Polish Indophiles, most of them Catholics, are
upset over Pope Benedict XVI's complaint to the Indian ambassador
about the treatment of Christians in India. Krzysztof
Mrozwicz, a leading journalist and a former Polish
ambassador to India, said he was surprised and shocked the Pope
had made uncharitable remarks about Indian society. The fact of
the matter is India is the most secular country in Asia if not in
the world.

The Pope should have realised what he was talking about
and in which context he was raising his concern.

'An Italian born and a Catholic by birth,
Sonia Gandhi is leading the century-old Congress party and guiding
the nation these days. What else he could have expected from an
Indian polity to show its record of tolerance and freedom of
practising one's own religion there?'

Stanslaw Tokarski,
head of Indian Studies at the Polish
Academy of Science, told INEP agency: 'The Pope's
unnecessary complaint has left a bad taste. He is visiting Poland
and I don't feel like listening to his homilies during his visit.
'When an Afghan wanted to live as a Christian in his country and
he was not allowed to live there, the Holy See remained quiet and
did not protest. Now suddenly they are
making complaints against a country whose record of freedom of
religion has been great.'

"Popes maimed & were
maimed, killed & were killed... Without question, these
pontiffs constitute the most despicable body of leaders, clerical
or lay, in history. They were, frankly, barbarians. Ancient Rome
had nothing to rival them in rottenness."

Pope
Benedict’s unwarranted remarks on the constitutional merit of
anti-conversion laws in some Indian states and the alleged
religious intolerance in this country have evoked an
understandably sharp response from the Indian government. The
Pontiff’s comments are not based on a correct reading of the
situation in India.

Some
states in India have even introduced legislation banning forced
religious conversions. The argument that missionaries are offering
the poor inducements to convert their religion is not reason
enough to ban religious conversion. But this is an issue for
Indian citizens to debate, not for the Pope to comment upon. This
is not the first time that a Pope is giving India unsolicited
advice on conversion. In 1999, Pope John Paul II told India that
religious conversion was a human right and it would be
unconstitutional for the country to ban it.

There
is also the question of diplomatic propriety. As head of state of
the Vatican City, it was improper of the Pope to make comments
that interfere in another country’s internal affairs.

Decoding
The Pope

what is mine is mine, what is yours
should be free for evangelisation?

In this
age of clashing civilisations and rattling religions, Pope
Benedict's message is clear: what is mine is mine, what is yours
should be free for evangelisation. Asia is the fertile ground for
harvesting new souls, and Indian clergy has his backing.

In this
age of clashing civilisations and rattling religions, the Pope is
slowly but surely drawing lines. He is guarding his shrinking
flock of Catholics, fighting against secularisation and falling
birth rates in Europe, surveying Asia as fertile ground for new
recruits, sternly watching any dilution of the church’s
conservative creed and putting other religions in their place, as
it were. The
highly controversial directive declared that Christ is the only
saviour of mankind, thereby shutting the lid on romancing with
other religions. The inter-religious dialogue, which liberals in
all religions believe is necessary for peaceful co-existence, was
essentially deemed a dialogue of unequals where the Catholic
church was superior..

In short, all
other roads to Nirvana
were blocked except that guarded by the pope.

Behind Dominus
Iesus was a fear that Hinduism and Buddhism were proving too
attractive to many westerners tired of the consumerist culture and
hankering for spiritual solace. The church saw the secularism
already rampant in Europe as a perfect fit with the philosophical
dexterity of Hinduism. It feared contamination.